Connector for electrical conductors with deformable side panels for contact with such conductors



' June 2,1970

L. c. KUO 3,515,795 CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS WITH DE'FORMABLE SIDE PANELS FOR CONTACT WITH SUCH CONDUCTORS Filed Dec. 14, 1967I 3 Sheets-fSheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

TED L. C. KUO

ATTORNEY June 2, 1910- c KUO V 3,515,795

CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS WITH DEFORMABLE' vSIDE PANELS FORCONTACT WITH SUCH CONDUCTORS Filed Dec. 14, 1967 3 SheetsSheet 2INYENTOR. TED L, C. KUO

ATTORNEY T. L. c. KUO 3,515,795

CAL CONDUCTORS WITH DEFORMABLE' "June Z, 197 I CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRISIDE PANELS FOR CONTACT WITH SUCK-Iv GONDUCTORS Filed Dec. 14, 1967 3Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 11

FIG. 12

INVENTOR. TED KUO L w/ u 04 [m FIG. l3

ATTORNEY US. Cl. 174-94 United States Patent otatt 3,515,795 PatentedJune 2, 1970 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is directed to aconnector and more particularly to a connector for coupling a pluralityof mem- 'bers, such as conductors, together. The connector is made of atop member and a bottom member and two side members coupled thereto. Theside members are arranged to be deformable such that when the connectoris subjected to externally applied compression forces, the side memberswill deform towards the center of the connector thereby to applycompression forces in the direction of the externally applied force asWell as transverse force to the members placed 'within the connector.Thus, providing holding forces on all sides of the members placedtherein.

That is to say, the compression forces applied externally of theconnector will cause the top and bottom members to grasp the membersplaced therein and in addition the deformance of the side members,towards the center of the connector, will apply transverse force to themembers placed :within the connector to provide additional holding forceto the members. The connector body can also include a lug for receipt ofadditional conductors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention I The invention isdirected to the field of connecting a plurality of members such asconductors together. The connector finds application in the splicing ofconductors, in providing taps for conductors and for similar types ofconnections.

Description of the prior art Prior art connectors, of the type arrangedto be sub- .jected to external crimping, or compression forces,generally had side members coupling the top and bottom 'or compressionforce, and the overall size of the connector was greatly increased.Further, in the event that conductors of different diameter were placedin the connector, equal holding forces were not imparted to eachconductor which might permit the conductors to be moved and with drawnfrom the connector if the top and bottom members of the connector werenot able to deform to match the difference in diameters of theconductors placed therein, Further, the failure to provide anytransverse forces to hold the conductors in position would not guaranteethat the conductors were held in intimate contact or would lie along thesame general line. Additionally, the holding force provided by the topand bottom members generally failed to provide adequate strain relieffor the conductors so that they might be easily pulled from theconnector.

Additionally, these devices, because of the expansion of the sidemembers during compression, would provide an unsmooth varying sizedconnector.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an idealsolution to the above noted problems found with respect to prior artdevices. In addition to the normal top and bottom members found inconnectors ofthis type, side members are provided which are readilyinwardly deformable upon the application of compression or crimpingforce to the connector. The degree of inward deformation of the sidemembers will be in dependence upn the applied force, the size of theconductors placed within the connector, the connector material andconfiguration. The deforming of the side members will cause theconductors to be totally enclosed on all sides and to have applied tothem a force transverse to the direction of the applied compressionforce. As a result a'tight, rigid connection is maintained which alsoprovides strain relief for the conductors placed within the connector.Variations in the diameters of the conductors will have little effectupon the operativeness of the connector in that additional transverseforces provided by the deforming of the side members will tend to holdthe conductors in intimate contact and will make them secure to theconnector. Further, due to the deforming of the side members inwardly,the relative size of the connector, before and after the compression orcrimp-ing operation, is relatively the same. A lug can be provided onthe connector body to receive additional conductors. it is therefore anobject of this invention to provide an improved form of connector.

I It is still another object of this invention to provide an improvedform of connector which has side members deformable towards membersplaced within the connector and which provide transverse holding forceto such members.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved connectorhaving side members formed in a deformable bellows shape which sidemembers move inwardly to contact members placed within the connector, asa result of the application of external compression or crimping forces.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improvedconnector having deformable side members which deform inwardly to seizemembers placed within the connector and which further includes aperturesin either the top or bottom member, or both, of the connector, to permitthe application of external holding materials.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improvedconnector having deformable side members and top and bottom members ofthe connector at their con- I ductor entrance and exit regions.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improvedconnector having deformable side members and which when deformed willprovide a connector having relatively the same transverse dimension asthe connector does in its uncrimped, or uncompressed form.

Other objects and features of the invention will be pointed out in thefollowing description and claims and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, which disclose by way of example, the principle of theinvention, and the best modes which have been contemplated for carryingit out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector constructed in accordancewith the concepts of the invention and showing the positioning ofconductors to be coupled therein.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the connector, of FIG. 1, compressed aboutconductors having a relatively large diameter.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the connector, of FIG. 1, compressed aboutconductors having a relatively small diameter.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the connector of FIG. 1 compressed aboutconductors having a square cross-section.

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the top member of the connector ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a connectorconstructed in accordance with the concepts of this invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a front view of a modification of the connector ofFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the connector of FIG. 7 showing it in thepartiall compressed state.

FIG. 9 is a view of the connector of FIG. 7 in a totally compressedstate about conductors placed therein.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a further modification of the connectorof FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 illustrates a front view of a further modification of theconnector of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 illustrates an additional modification to the connector of FIG.1.

FIG. 13 illustrates a modification of the top member to include aconductor receiving lug.

Similar elements will be given similar reference characters in each ofthe respective drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning now to FIG. 1 there isillustrated in perspective form a connector constructed in accordancewith the concepts of the invention. The connector 20 has a top member 22and bottom member 24 as well as side members 26 and 28. Each of theseside members, 26 and 28, have a plurality of planar panels 30 joinedtogether as at 32. Although the planar panels 30 are approximately equalin size, they may be varied as required. Planar panels 30 are joined insuch a manner that they will form a generally bellows shaped side wall.Placed within the connector 20, between the top member 22 and bottommember 24, are two conductors 34 and 36. Upon the application ofcompression, or crimping forces, to the connector 20, as by the use ofpliers, or similar tools, to the top member 22 and bottom member 24, theside members 26 and 28 will tend to move inwardly towards the'conductors34 and 36 to provide a holding force in a direction transverse to thedirection of application of the compression or crimping force to theconnector 20.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2, when the conductors 34 and 36 are ofrelatively large diameter, with respect to the spacing between topmember 22 and bottom member 24, the side members 26 and 28 will moveinwardly to provide transverse holding force to the conductors 34 and36. The joints 30 will tend to round out while the planar panels willconform generally to the outer shape of the conductors 34 and 36. Whenthe connector 20' is applied to conductors 38 and 40, having relativelysmall diameter, as is shown in FIG. 3, the degree of inward deforming ofthe planar panels 32 will be greater thus providing transverse holdingforce to the conductors and taking up the greater space between theouter surfaces of the conductors and the original positions of the sidemembers 26 and 28. FIG. 4 illustrates the connector 20 as applied tosquare cross-section conductors 42 and 44. It should be noted that theplanar panels 32, contacting the side portionsof the conductors 42 and44, also have a planar configuration which is contrasted to the arcuateconfiguration of the side members 26 and 28 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3conforming to the circular outer surfaces of the conductors 34, 36, 38and 40 respectively.

Referring now to FIG. 5 there is shown a modified top member 22 of theconnector 20, shown in FIG. 1. The top member 22' has a plurality ofapertures 50 extending along the length thereof. Once the connector 20has been crimped or compressed about the conductors placed therein, forexample conductors 34 and 36 of FIG. 1, solder, epoxy or other materialsmay be employed for permanently connecting the conductors together byplacing this material through the apertures 50.

The connector 60, of FIG. 6, is similar in most details to connector 20of FIG. 1 with the exception that the side members 66 and 68 are arcuatein their shape rather than bellowed as is shown in FIG. 1. It should benoted that the crests of the arcs face each other and thereby decreasethe width of the connector. As is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 the applicationof compression or crimping force to the connector 60 causes the sidemembers 66 and 68 to deform inwardly towards the conductors 34 and 36.FIG. 8 shows the side members 66 and 68 partially deformed whereas FIG.9 shows the connector 60 completely compressed about the conductors 34and 36.

Turning to .FIG. 7 a modification of the connector 60 as shown in FIG. 6will be described. The connector of FIG. 7 is the same in generalconstruction as the connector of FIG. 6 with the exception of theinclusion of strain relief tabs coupled to the top member 72 and thebottom member 74. Although not shown in this figure these strain relieftabs 80 are present on both sides of the connector; that is, at theregions of entry and exit of the conductors into the connector 70. Asmay be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 the strain relief tabs 80 will tend to foldin towards the conductor and thus permit atighter fitting between thetop and bottom members 72 and 74 and the conductors 34 and 36.

Turning now to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 additional modifications of the sidemember arrangement of FIG. 1 are shown. In FIG. 10 the connector hasside members 106 and 108. However, the side panel 112 of each of theside members 106 and 108 are planar and are perpendicular to the topmember 102. The planar side panels 112a and 112b are formed in a bellowsarrangement as was true of the entire side members 26 and 28 of FIG. 1.In FIG. 11 connector 120, having side members 126 and 128, has a planarpanel 130 perpendicular to the top member 122 and two bellows-typesections constructed of the planar panels 132 on either side of theplanar panel 130 and coupled respectively to the top member 122 and thebottom member 124. The connector of FIG. 12 is similar to connector 120of FIG. 11 except that the planar panel 130 has been replaced by anarcuate panel mounted between the two bellows sections composed of theplanar panels 132.

FIG. 13 illustrates a modification of the top member of the connector.Top member is extended to provide a lug 162 having an aperture 164therein. Conductors on other devices may be soldered, wire wrapped orotherwise attached to lug 162. This type of top member may be employedwith any of the side member configurations described above. Further,both said top and bottom members may include lugs.

Each of the modifications in the basic connector provide arrangementsfound suitable for different types of connector materials, differenttypes of conductor insulation, different conductor configurations orpermit application with different types of compression or crimpingtools. All these connectors operate in the manner described withreference to FIG. 1 to provide positive transverse holding force causedby the inward deformation of the side members to intimately couple andcontact the conductors placed within the connector.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A coupling adapted to be subjected to externally applied forces tocouple together a plurality of members comprising: a top member and abottom member being laterally spaced sufficiently to receive at leastone member therebetween; two side members coupled to opposite edges ofsaid top and bottom members, said two side members are in the form ofbellows wherein the panels of said bellows are of nonuniform width andthe bellows panel junctions extend in a plane parallel with said top andbottom members; said side members in a first stable state maintainingsaid top and bottom members in said member receiving spacedrelationship; said two side members being inwardly deformable inresponse to externally applied forces and capable of remaining in asecond stable state upon removal of externally applied forces wherebyupon the application of externally applied forces said two side membersdeform into intimate contact with the member placed between said top andbottom members and retain said member in cooperation with said top andbottom members upon the removal of externally applied forces.

2. An electrical connector fabricated of electrically conductivematerial adapted to be subjected to externally applied forces toelectrically couple together a plurality of electrical conductorscomprising: a top member and a bottom member being laterally spacedsufficiently to receive at least two electrical conductors therebetween;two side members coupled to opposite edges of said top and bottommembers forming a partially closed unit with said top and bottommembers, open at both ends for receipt therein of electrical conductors;said side members in a first stable state maintaining said top andbottom members in said conductor receiving spaced relationship; said twoside members each comprising: a first planar panel perpendicular to theplane of said top and bottom members; a first pair of planar panelsdisposed intermediate said first planar panel and said top member andcoupled thereto, the two panels of said first pair of planar panelscoupled one to another in oblique planar relationship with the jointuretherebetween extending outwardly from the plane defined by thecorresponding edges of said top and bottom members; and a second pair ofplanar panels disposed intermediate said first planar panel and saidbottom member and coupled thereto, the two panels of said sec ond pairof planar panels coupled one to another in oblique planar relationshipwith the jointure therebetween extending outwardly from the planedefined by the corresponding edges of said top and bottom members; saidtwo side members being deformable to assume a shape complementary to thesurface contour of said conductors in response to externally appliedforces and capable of remaining in a second stable state upon removal ofexternally applied forces.

3. An electrical connector fabricated of electrically conductivematerial adapted to be subjected to externally applied forces toelectrically coupled together a plurality of electrical conductorscomprising: a top member and a bottom member being laterally spacedsufiiciently to receive at least two electrical conductors therebetween;two side members coupled to opposite edges of said top and bottommembers forming a partially closed unit with said top and bottommembers, open at both ends for receipt therein of' electricalconductors; said side members in a first stable state maintaining saidtop and bottom members in said conductor receiving spaced relationship;said two side members each comprising: a first planar panelperpendicular to the plane of said top and bottom members; and a pair ofplanar panels disposed intermediate said first planar panel and one ofsaid top and bottom panels and coupled thereto, the two panels of saidpair of planar panels coupled to one another in oblique planarrelationship with the jointure therebetween extending outwardly from theplane defined by the corresponding edges of said top and bottom members;said two side members being deformable to assume a shape complementaryto the surface contour of said conductors in response to externallyapplied forces and capable of remaining in a second stable state uponremoval of externally applied forces.

4. An electrical connector fabricated of electrically conductivematerial adapted to be subjected to externally applied forces toelectrically couple together a plurality of electrical conductorscomprising: a top member and a bottom member being laterally spacedsufficiently to receive at lease two electriacl conductors therebetween;two side members coupled to opposite edges of said top and bottommembers forming a partially closed unit with said top and bottommember's, open at both ends for receipt therein of electricalconductors; said side members in a first stable state maintaining saidtop and bottom members in said conductor receiving spaced relationship;said two side members each comprising: a first arcuate panelperpendicular to the plane of said top and bottom members; a first pairof planar panels disposed intermediate said first arcuate panel and saidtop member and coupled thereto, the two panels of said first pair ofplanar panels coupled one to another in oblique planar relationship withthe jointure therebetween extending outwardly from the plane defined bythe corresponding edges of said top and bottom members; and a secondpair of planar panels disposed intermediate said first arcuate panel andsaid bottom member and coupled thereto, the two panels of said secondpair of planar panels coupled one to another in oblique planarrelationship with the jointure therebetween extending outwardly from theplane defined by the corresponding edges of said top and bottom members;said two side members being deformable to assume a shape complementaryto the surface contour of said conductors in response to externallyapplied forces and capable of remaining in a second stable state uponremoval of externally applied forces.

5. An electrical connector fabricated ofelectrically conductive materialadapted to be subjected to externally applied forces to electricallycoupled together a plurality of electrical conductors comprising: a topmember and a bottom member being laterally spaced sufiiciently toreceive at least two electrical conductors therebetween; two sidemembers coupled to opposite edges of said two and bottom members forminga partially closed unit with said top and bottom members, open at bothends for receipt therein of electrical conductors; said side members ina first stable state maintaining said top and bottom members in saidconductor receiving spaced relationship; said two side members eachcomprising: at least three planar panels in oblique planar relationshipone to another coupled at corresponding edges to one another, the edgesof the ends ones of said panels coupled to said top and bottom panelsrespectively, the apices of the jointures of each two of said panelsextending away from the plane defined by the corresponding edges of saidtop and bottom members; said two side members being deformable to assumea shape complementary to the surface contour of said conductors inresponse to externally applied forces and capable of remaining in asecond stable state upon removal of externally applied forces.

6. A connector as defined in claim 5, wherein at least one of said topand bottom members has a plurality of 7 l v 1 8 apertures thereinwhereby said connector may be further 1 FOREIGN PATENTS coupled toconductors placed therein by externally applied 692,708 8/1964 Canada.

materlals- 764,654 12/1956 Great Britain.

7. A connector as defined in claim 5, wherein at least sildee gfl 321dtop or bottom members 1s extended to pro- 5 DARRELL L. CLAY, PrimaryExaminer References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,137,925 6/1964 Wahl.3,265,807 8/1966 Smith -1 174 s7

